A POLICE investigation into the death of a 14-year-old found hanged in her bedroom uncovered no evidence that she was the victim of internet bullying, an inquest has been told.

Asked by Leicester and South Leicestershire coroner Catherine Mason if there was "any evidence" that Hannah Smith was subjected to cyber-bullying, Detective Sergeant Wayne Simmons said: "No, there isn't."

Det Sgt Simmons, of Leicestershire Police, added that on the "balance of probabilities" the "vile" messages about Hannah on the social media site Ask.fm were posted by the teenager herself in the run-up to her death on August 2 last year.

Hannah, of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire was found dead at home in her bedroom by her older sister on August 2, 2013.

Earlier, her father David Smith told the inquest that his daughter had been bullied for some time, possibly because she suffered from eczema.

Describing his Hannah as "self-confident", he said that her behaviour seemed to change after she was allegedly attacked by a former friend at a party in March last year, and "had her head smashed against a wall, twice."

He said she went from being "bubbly" and "happy" to becoming more introverted.

Mr Smith said his daughter, who attended Lutterworth High School, had also taken to spending more time in bed and was late for class about once a week.

He said he had also spoken to his daughter about self-harming, but she had never raised the subject of wanting to take her own life.

Hannah's father David Smith told the inquest be believed his daughter was bullied [NEWSTEAM]

Hannah's older sister Joanne Smith, told the inquest in Leicester Town Hall that on one occasion she had "ripped out the hair" of a person who she had believed to be bullying her sister at school.

She said her younger sibling had been targeted throughout school years seven, eight and nine.

She added that whenever there was trouble, Hannah or her friends would alert her and she would "deal with it".

Miss Smith, 17, said she had been out into the early hours with friends, and on arriving back home had invited them all in where they had decided to go and wake Hannah as a prank.

She said: "My friend opened her bedroom door and said the little light was on but he couldn't see her.

"We thought 'she's got to be around, and she'll probably jump out around the door and scare us'.

"Then I turned around and saw her."

Earlier in the inquest, a pathologist's report had given the cause of death as hanging.

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